Crocus sativus L. (C. sativus), commonly known as saffron, is used as a food additive, preservative and medicinal herb. It has been considered as an alternative treatment for gastrointestinal diseases. C. sativus’ medicinal effects are associated to its major ingredients including crocin, crocetin and safranal. This study found that the gastrointestinal effects of C. sativus and its major ingre...

Saffron is a spice obtained from the dried stigmas of the purple-flowered saffron crocus (Crocus sativus L.). The determination of the water content in saffron is very important in order to establish its microbiological stability and consequently to determine the commercial value. The average moisture content in dried saffron powder ranges between 10-12% causing a slow degradation of the produc...

BACKGROUND Apoptosis, a widely important mechanism that contributes to cell growth reduction, is reported to be induced by Crocus sativus in different cancer types. The present study was designed to elucidate apoptosis induction by crocin, a main component of Crocus sativus in a human pancreatic cancer cell line (BxPC-3). METHODS Cell viability was measured by MTT assay, Hoechest33258 stainin...

BACKGROUND In recent years phytotherapy has been explored as a source for alternative treatments for mood disorders. One potential candidate is saffron (Crocus sativus L.), whose main bioactive components are crocins and safranal. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of affron®, a standardised stigmas extract from Crocus sativus L. for improving mood, stress, anxie...

Crocus sativus is a triploid sterile plant characterized by its long red stigmas, which produce and store significant quantities of carotenoid derivatives formed from the oxidative cleavage of beta-carotene and zeaxanthin. The present study reports on the genomic structures of two lycopene-beta-cyclase genes, CstLcyB1 and CstLcyB2a, and on their transcription patterns in different C. sativus ti...

More than 30 mineral elements have been found with different key functions in helping plants and animals to survive and live healthy. As a direct result, they have always attracted the attention of scientists. The quest is to find some efficient analytical and quantitative procedures in this study to determine some mineral and trace elements of Iranian Crocus sativus L. corms. Several studies h...

safranal, the main component of crocus sativus essential oil, is thought to be the main cause of saffron unique odor. it is now about eighty years that this compound has been discovered and since then different scientific experiments have been done investigating its biological-pharmacological activities. safranal effects in cns have been more attractive to scientists and an escalating number of...

Crocus sativus L. belonging to the family Iridaceae (syn - kesar) comprises the dried red stigma and is widely cultivated in Iran and other countries such as India and Greece. Saffron contains more than 150 volatile and aroma-yielding compounds mainly terpenes, terpene alcohol, and their esters. The bitter taste and an iodoform or hay-like fragrance are caused by chemicals picrocrocin and safra...